Rick,
Only you can make that decision. My first question to you would be where do you live and what kind of radiation did you have; photon or proton? The reason I ask is i was diagnosed in April of 2023 at 75 yrs. of age.
Had always been in pretty good shape, involved in athletics and all that. Mine was also stage 2 but hadn't gotten into the lymph nodes yet. I was living in Knoxville , Tn. and was ready to start "photon" radiation and chemo and was also scheduled to meet with two surgeons who wanted to operate as soon as they could. Well when I'm faced with a major(and this was MAJOR) decision I delve into all the information I can find and got on this site to read some comments. I wanted a second opinion on something this critical so I met with another set of surgeons and they also recommenced surgery and after reading about "life after surgery" I told them at this point if I could get 3 more years by being treated with radiation and chemo and still had some quality of life that, that was the route I was going to go! What all the "specialists" did NOT tell me that Knoxville, Tn. had one of only 40 "proton" radiation centers just down the road from me so I called them and they took me in right away which I feel made a great difference. And I kept getting pet scans and an EGD that showed Barrett's esophagus with dysplasia and was told I needed to find a gastroenterologist who could do an EGD with cryoablation to get rid of the Barrett's and dysplasia which could cause the cancer to show up again. I had my last treatment at Mayo Clinic in April by an absolutely wonderful Doctor named Ms. Swathi Eluri and the outcome showed no Barrett's or dysplasia. I am scheduled to go for a follow up on July 11th to make sure it hasn't flared up but if it has I will have the cryoablation done again. I lost approximately 33 lbs. with the cancer but right now I am maintaining my weight and feeling pretty good. As a matter of fact my wife and I just moved a whole house back to Florida and I did most of the "bulk" work because my wife is in a lot of pain because she needs a total hip replacement scheduled for the 15th!! I guess the reason I am telling you this is to let you know you have other options and should seriously look into them. The one gentleman that posted here said he was doing well after the surgery but "as a rule" it is a VERY difficult and different road to travel but as I said only you can decide what's right for you. On one final note I have two grown sons and four grandchildren that I have been estranged from for some time. Their mother(my ex-wife) and her family absolutely poisoned them against me. I have decided that what ever time God has left for me I am going to make the most of it and enjoy whatever time I have left. I wish you all the best am looking forward to hearing back from you.
Respectfully, Robert "Chip" Driggs